Kansas State faces tough test vs No. 12 WVU
No. 12 West Virginia (14-2, 3-1) vs. Kansas State (7-9, 0-4)
Fred Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 12 West Virginia presents a tough challenge for Kansas State. Kansas State has played a ranked team only once this season and lost. West Virginia easily beat TCU by 32 in its last outing.
SUPER SENIORS: Kansas State's Cartier Diarra, Xavier Sneed and Makol Mawien have combined to account for 53 percent of the team's scoring this season and have scored 60 percent of all Wildcats points over the last five games.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Mountaineers have given up only 51 points per game to conference opponents so far, an improvement from the 62 per game they gave up against non-conference foes.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Diarra has either made or assisted on 50 percent of all Kansas State field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has accounted for 27 field goals and 25 assists in those games.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Mountaineers have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Wildcats. Kansas State has 26 assists on 58 field goals (44.8 percent) across its past three outings while West Virginia has assists on 37 of 69 field goals (53.6 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The West Virginia defense has allowed only 59.3 points per game to opponents, which is the ninth-lowest figure in the country. The Kansas State offense has averaged just 64.5 points through 16 games (ranked 273rd among Division I teams).
